Metal on Satellite Radio

So any one else have satellite radio? I got sirius a couple of Decembers ago and I really do enjoy have so many channels to listen to. I get to hear comedy, nba, and various interesting shows I other wise wouldn't hear.

There are many rock channels with a couple dedicated to metal. The main one that is most exclusively dedicated to metal and the one I listen to the most often is: Hardattack. There are some other stations that do 80's rock/metal, Heavy Metal/Hardrock but Hardattack is the station that is dominated by the metal genre and marketed as the metal station.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Channel&cid=1104779639726&s=prog

OVERVIEW:
I hear a lot of interesting stuff both new and old but I really wish they would change it up a little more. Metal is a pretty broad genre and I don't think they hit both sides of the spectrum. They seem to stick with mid range popular heavy stuff and only go to the better known extreme stuff. Of course the odd ball obscure stuff here and there is thrown in.

THE GOOD:

Their normal day to day play seems to be a mix of the current popular metal mixed in with some classics and obscure older stuff that should be considered classic. They do a thing where they spin what they call an "original sin" and you get to here some old school Sabbath, Venom, Celtic Frost or some other early defining metal classic. So basically I can turn it on at any time and hear metal of some sort.

One thing I do love is some of the shows they have. Bloody Roots of Metal is awesome. Basically each week there is a show that is about a specific band, a genre, or themed around a specific location (80s bay area thrash). Hear all kinds of songs, clipped in with information and interviews. Great stuff and is hosted by Ian Christie who wrote the complete headbang history of heavy metal.

Another great show is Contact High that plays all so called Stoner Metal such as Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, ect. They also let famous muscians/bands host shows where they get interviewed and pick songs to play and talk about what it means to them or why they like it. A few months ago they let Testament do this.

THE BAD:
They seem to skip over a lot of edgier lesser known 80s stuff, nor do they pull out the more obscure stuff by better known bands such as Accept who have a lot heavier stuff than the song Balls to the Wall. Seems like if I turn on this station for a quick trip (15 mins each way) to the grocery store I will hear a bunch of crappy new bands that all sound the same and 1 or 2 obvious metal classics. Occasionally it will seem like the station is dominated almost exclusively by a specific label for a week at a time. There have been times almost everything I hear is from bands that are all roadrunner, metal blade, earache or victory.

If you don't care for foul language or have kids in your house/car the some of the DJs curse like it is going out of style.

In Closure:

I'd never give up satellite radio as I think it is worth the 12.99/month but it is not really for the metal they play, it is for all the other programming it offers in other realms of music, talk, ect.

So anyone else have thoughts/comments/questions on metal on satellite radio?

Not really a fan of radio all that much and really haven't heard much sat radio!

Wargod48

NP: Lechery - Violator

I have XMradio, through my satellite tv, but don't have sirius in my truck. I listen to cds when driving, but every once in a while I'll put on XMradio at home and crank it through my system. They play some good stuff.

Wargod48 wrote:

Not really a fan of radio all that much and really haven't heard much sat radio!

Wargod48

NP: Lechery - Violator

Well it is considerably diffirent than regular radio, almost no commercials. Completely uncensored, larger play lists.

I have XM in my car. I really enjoy listening to it. I mostly listen to the Liquid Metal channel for the heavier stuff or The Boneyard for the 80's stuff. They do have an all punk channel, an all Led Zeppelin channel and a modern hard rock channel, too.

Thanks for the update. I've always been curious about satellite radio. I sort of have my own radio stations at home (a bunch of CD changers hooked up to wireless speakers, etc.) I have them sorted out into pretty specific genres, about 30 different ones, so when I put them on random they function as commercial free radio stations that give me pretty much what I want to hear. I've got between 25-150 CD's in each genre.
From what you say satellite radio is an improvement over commercial radio, but still doesn't go all that deep into playing underground and obscure stuff, and probably not the stuff I want to hear, so I guess my own approach is still the best for me.

firestar wrote:

Wargod48 wrote:

Not really a fan of radio all that much and really haven't heard much sat radio!

Wargod48

NP: Lechery - Violator

Well it is considerably diffirent than regular radio, almost no commercials. Completely uncensored, larger play lists.

I have heard XM radio and I liked it early on but I still prefer my cds have to when you have 1000's!

Wargod48

firestar wrote:

So any one else have satellite radio? I got sirius a couple of Decembers ago and I really do enjoy have so many channels to listen to. I get to hear comedy, nba, and various interesting shows I other wise wouldn't hear.

There are many rock channels with a couple dedicated to metal. The main one that is most exclusively dedicated to metal and the one I listen to the most often is: Hardattack. There are some other stations that do 80's rock/metal, Heavy Metal/Hardrock but Hardattack is the station that is dominated by the metal genre and marketed as the metal station.

http://www.sirius.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=Sirius/Page&c=Channel&cid=1104779639726&s=prog

OVERVIEW:
I hear a lot of interesting stuff both new and old but I really wish they would change it up a little more. Metal is a pretty broad genre and I don't think they hit both sides of the spectrum. They seem to stick with mid range popular heavy stuff and only go to the better known extreme stuff. Of course the odd ball obscure stuff here and there is thrown in.

THE GOOD:

Their normal day to day play seems to be a mix of the current popular metal mixed in with some classics and obscure older stuff that should be considered classic. They do a thing where they spin what they call an "original sin" and you get to here some old school Sabbath, Venom, Celtic Frost or some other early defining metal classic. So basically I can turn it on at any time and hear metal of some sort.

One thing I do love is some of the shows they have. Bloody Roots of Metal is awesome. Basically each week there is a show that is about a specific band, a genre, or themed around a specific location (80s bay area thrash). Hear all kinds of songs, clipped in with information and interviews. Great stuff and is hosted by Ian Christie who wrote the complete headbang history of heavy metal.

Another great show is Contact High that plays all so called Stoner Metal such as Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Monster Magnet, ect. They also let famous muscians/bands host shows where they get interviewed and pick songs to play and talk about what it means to them or why they like it. A few months ago they let Testament do this.

THE BAD:
They seem to skip over a lot of edgier lesser known 80s stuff, nor do they pull out the more obscure stuff by better known bands such as Accept who have a lot heavier stuff than the song Balls to the Wall. Seems like if I turn on this station for a quick trip (15 mins each way) to the grocery store I will hear a bunch of crappy new bands that all sound the same and 1 or 2 obvious metal classics. Occasionally it will seem like the station is dominated almost exclusively by a specific label for a week at a time. There have been times almost everything I hear is from bands that are all roadrunner, metal blade, earache or victory.

If you don't care for foul language or have kids in your house/car the some of the DJs curse like it is going out of style.

In Closure:

I'd never give up satellite radio as I think it is worth the 12.99/month but it is not really for the metal they play, it is for all the other programming it offers in other realms of music, talk, ect.

So anyone else have thoughts/comments/questions on metal on satellite radio?

Hey, Firestar

I tried the "Three Day Trial" thing, and it went well...but the sound quality sucked! Well, it was all muffled, and the drum sound was computer-like...I don't know, is it usually like this?

I like the Boneyard on XM.Lots of good 80's metal.

The sound on satellite radio is usually crystal clear but much like satellite television there can be occasional interference but for the most part sounds great.

The place where I used to work had XM. I listed to various stations, but Da Boneyard was mostly what interested me. They played some out of the way classic stuff, not just the "hits" that FM has run into the ground.

nevermore wrote:

I have XM in my car. I really enjoy listening to it. I mostly listen to the Liquid Metal channel for the heavier stuff or The Boneyard for the 80's stuff. They do have an all punk channel, an all Led Zeppelin channel and a modern hard rock channel, too.

I have the XM at home and listen to Liquid Metal and The Boneyard myself whenever I can. The only problem with Liquid Metal is that it has to many modern bands with the same monotone ROOOAAARRRR vocals that can get irritating sometimes. Otherwise, it's all good. The Boneyard always plays the classics.

I've been a listener of Sirius satellite radio for almost 3 years now. I got it primarily for the Howard Stern show. As for the music, the song catalog is a 1000 times better than regular radio. However, even with their gigantic playlists, they can be repetitive, especially if you're listening for extended periods of time. It's great to listen to during dinner or if I'm doing some yardwork, but I still prefer to listen to my cd's. Until the day I become my own radio programmer, nobody can pick my perfect set list but me.

Hard Attack, the metal channel, I really can't listen to for more than 20 minutes at a clip. For every 2 or 3 decent (to me anyway) metal songs they play, they'll follow up with some horrible screaming metalcore and I'm out.

MetalGuy71 wrote:

Hard Attack, the metal channel, I really can't listen to for more than 20 minutes at a clip. For every 2 or 3 decent (to me anyway) metal songs they play, they'll follow up with some horrible screaming metalcore and I'm out.

I agree completely. That's how the metal channel is on XM too. That's another reason I don't crank it too often.

thrasher73 wrote:

I like the Boneyard on XM.Lots of good 80's metal.

I have that on Directv and listen to it sometimes. I don't have it for my car - I have a 60 GB Ipod and an Ipod radio transmitter for my car - my own personal station

i have XM but never use it. my wife likes it quite a bit though. when i listen to a band, i generally play the full album & not just individual songs.

Since the 2 satellite's companies have merged, I have to say the playlists have gotten much better, especially on the Boneyard. They're starting to dig way deeper into the vaults on some better known artists as well as playing some real obscure stuff. For the first time ever I heard them play Fifth Angel, Drivin n Cryin, some Joe Satriani (not one of his "hits" either) and Steve Vai. I'm glad too becasuse I was getting fed up hearing the same 5 Def Leppard tracks over and over again.

thrasher73 wrote:

I like the Boneyard on XM.Lots of good 80's metal.

I'm listening to this station right now since XM is part of my satellite package. It serves as a nice soundtrack while I type my next manifesto on Heartofmetal....